Means for applying glue to articles

ABSTRACT

A MACHINE FOR SUCCESSIVELY APPLYING ADHESIVE TO SEQUENTIALLY FED ARTICLES, BOTTOM FED FROM A STACK, IN WHICH THE FEED OF THE ARTICLE TO THE ADHESIVE APPLYING MEANS IS AUTOMATICALLY STOPPED WHEN AN ARTICLE TO WHICH ADHESIVE HAS ALREADY BEEN APPLIED HAS REACHED A RECEIVING MEANS AND HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED BY AN OPERATOR.

Feb. 6, 1973 F, GORDON 3,715,259

MEANS FOR APPLYING GLUE TO ARTICLES Original Filed March 20, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FRANK GORDON BY, WM 1M 1 ATTORNEYS Feb. 6, 1973 F. GORDON MEANS FOR APPLYING GLUE TO ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 20 1969 FIG. 4

INVENTOR FRANK GORDON nwuuu. wan.

. l oooooooooy 4 4o Feb. 6, 1973 F. GORDON MEANS FOR APPLYING GLUE TO ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed March 20 1969 m m E V m Feb. 6, 1 973 F. GORDON MEANS FOR APPLYING GLUE TO ARTICLES Original Filed March 20, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 9

INVENTOR FRANK GORDON FIG. IO

3,715,259 MEANS FOR APPLYING GLUE TO ARTICLES Frank Gordon, Carol Road, Marblehead, Mass. 62112 Continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 898,750, Mar. 20, 1969. This application July 15, 1971, Ser.

Int. CI. 13321) 31/00 US. Cl. 15363 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for successively applying adhesive to sequentially fed articles, bottom fed from a stack, in which the feed of the articles to the adhesive applying means is automatically stopped when an article to which adhesive has already been applied has reached a receiving means and has not been removed by an operator.

This application is a continuation of application Ser- No. 808,750, filed Mar. 20, 1969, now abandoned.

SUBJECT MATTER OF INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved means for applying adhesive successively to a stack of like articles.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION In a number of arts and trades it is necessary to apply adhesive or glue to a number of like artciles which are then used at irregular intervals of time in some subsequent operation. For example, in the shoe trade it is quite common to apply adhesive to soles, insoles or other like flat components. These components or articles are thereafter used by an individual in a hand operation which might for example involve other lasting operation or the like. Because the subsequent operation is a hand operation, it is difficult, if not impossible, to automatically time a glue applicator to the rhythm of the Worker using these articles. Consequently, it is common in the shoe trade and others when adhesive coated articles are to be used in a manufacturing process to coat a substantial number of such articles and have them available for subsequent use by the worker. Such a process and the mechanisms used for it have a number of serious drawbacks. For example, batch preparation of a plurality of articles may result in uneven drying of adhesive material since some articles may be used before others and therefore result in nonuniform securing of the article to the work piece involved. In addition, there is a problem in keeping the adhesive surface free of contaminants, such as dust, and a further problem in stacking such adhesive coated articles. In addition, such systems severely limit the nature of adhesives that might be used.

An alternate means for applying adhesive to articles which are used by a worker at non-uniform time intervals is for the worker to singularly prepare an article by coating it with an adhesive as required. This system is obviously limited in utility because it requires a break in the normal rhythm pattern which might otherwise be used by an operator in a subsequent step. Further, the need of having a single operator perform two distinct functions in a semi-mechanized operation sequentially creates problems with respect to machine positioning and plant layout.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention is designed to overcome the foregoing limitations and has as a principal object the provision of a means for sequentially applying adhesive or other coating materials to articles wherein the coating of the articles are controlled in time sequence depending upon the requirements of the worker using such articles.

United States Patent O ice A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for demand feeding of articles for coating to an applicator with the demand controlled by the actual usage of the article by an operator. A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for successively feeding a stack of like fiat articles from a container or hopper to an adhesive applicator and thence to a receiving means. One further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means and method of selectively applying adhesive by offset roller means to successively fed articles. A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means and method of applying adhesive to successively fed articles. A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means and method of applying adhesive to an article and then protecting the surface of the adhesive until actual use or application of the article.

In the present invention there is provided a means for applying adhesive to corresponding surfaces of a plurality of flat articles in which a stack of articles are sequentially fed from a container means such as a hopper in a forward direction to an adhesive applicator lying in the path of the forwardly-moving articles. Means deposit the adhesive on the forwardly-moving articles and deliver the articles successively to a receiving means having sensing elements. The sensing elements in turn control the rate of feed of the articles from the stack and are designed to stop the feeding of the articles from the stack under preselected conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially fragmented perspective view of a machine embodying a preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container means of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the detail of the container means illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective of a detail of the container means of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a part of the means for feeding articles to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a machine illustrating a modification of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of drive means used in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a still further modification of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional schematic detail of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective detail of the drive means for feeding articles in the modification of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, is designed for use in coating a wide variety of fiat, preferably flexible, articles with adhesives or other coatings. The embodiment illustrated is primarily intended for use in the shoe trade, although other applications are possible. In particular, the embodiment illustrated may be used for adhesive coating of such articles as shoe soles, sock linings, pads, and other shoe components.

A container means generally illustrated at 1 is designed to contain a stack of like flat, preferably flexible, articles such as shoe soles. This container means, which is essentially a hopper, is formed with a support 2 upon which a stack of like articles may be positioned near the forward end 3. The support 2 may be suitably secured to a frame 4 having legs 5 or other suitable support members not shown. The container means is provided with side walls 6 and 7 that are adjustably secured to the support 1. These side walls may be laterally secured to the support 2 by means of adjustable lock means 8. These lock means may comprise a flange 9 projecting laterally from each side wall having a slot formed in it. A bolt 10 extends through the slot and through a hole in the support 2 with the lower end of the bolt secured by a nut below the support 2. A series of holes 11 may be formed in the support 2 for selective adjustment of the side walls 6 and 7. A stop 12 may be secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls 6 and '7. This stop may comprise an angle member suitably bolted to the inner surfaces of the side walls 6 and 7. The stop 12 may be adjustably secured by bolts 14 extending through one selected hole 15 in the side walls to properly locate a stack. of articles in the container means.

A vertically adjustable gate extends across the forward end of the container means. The lower edge 21 (FIG. 3) of the gate may be adjustably spaced from the upper surface 22 of the support 2 by vertical adjusting means 23. These vertical adjusting means may for example comprise an internally threaded sleeve 24, which is secured at its lower end to the support 2. A threaded shaft 25 extends upwardly from the upper end of the sleeve 24 and terminates preferably in a knurled finger grip 26. The gate 20 is provided with brackets 28 and 29. Bracket 29 has an outwardly extending flange 30 having an aperture slidingly engaging the outer surface of the sleeve 24. Bracket 28 is formed with an outwardly extending flange 31 that engages an annular groove in the retaining elemeat 32, which in turn is secured to the threaded shaft 25. Rotation of the threaded shaft 25 by moving the knurled grip 26 causes the gate 20 to be moved up or down so that its lower edge may be positioned in a desired spaced relation with respect to the upper surface of support 2. The gate is ordinarily adjusted so that the lower edge of the gate 20 is spaced from the upper surface 22 of support 2 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of one article but less than the thickness of two articles. This spacing permits the feeding of one article at a time beneath the gate 20.

Articles are fed successively through the space 35 between the lower edge of the gate 20 and the support 2 by the feed means best illustrated in FIG. 5. In this arrangement, a pair of wheels '40 having a knurled periphery 41 are commonly supported on a shaft 42 for rotation. The shaft 42 in turn may be journaled in bearing blocks 43 which are supported on the lower surface of support 2. The support 2 is formed with slots 45 (FIG. 2) through which the upper portion of each of the knurled wheels project. These slots are located near the forward end of the container means 1 adjacent to the gate 20. The wheels are designed to engage the lowermost of a stack of articles positioned above to drive it forwardly underneath the gate 20. The shaft 42 is suitably connected through gears 50 and 51 to a power or drive source 54, which in the embodiment illustrated may comprise a separate motor suitably controlled by means hereafter described. Although the preferred embodiment illustrated uses single knurled wheels, conveyor belts running on the surface of support 2 and underneath the gate 20 are also contemplated. Further, if desired, a common power source used to operate mechanisms hereafter described may be used in place of motor 54.

Positioned forwardly of the container means is a positioning and securing means generally illustrated at 69. This positioning and securing means includes a pressure roll 61 axially supported in journal means 62 at each end. These journal means are adjustable and may comprise a bracket 63 having a parallel side 2 in which a vertically slidable journal 64 may be adjustably secured. The roll 61 is adapted to be moved vertically to accommodate the passage thereunder through a space lengthwise of roll 61 of articles being processed.

An adhesive receiving means 65 is positioned below the positioning and securing means 68 and consists of an adhesive pot 66 containing a suitable glue or adhesive 67. An adhesive transfer means 68 is designed to transfer the adhesives 67 to the pressure roll 61. This means may comprise a transfer or applicator roll 69, which is suitably supported in fixed journals at its ends. These journals are not shown. A doctor bar 70 is secured to the frame of the adhesive pot 66 and is designed to engage the roll 69 to limit the amount of adhesive being transferred from the roll 69 to the article. The rolls 61 and 69 define a space between them through which the articles are transferred as they are adhesively or otherwise coated.

The rolls 61 and 69 may be suitably and commonly driven from a power source, such for example as the drive motor 73. This drive motor may be connected by chain 74 and interengaged sprockets 75 and 76 to the shaft 77 which is coaxially secured to roll 61. Meshing gears 78 fixed to shaft 77 and 79 fixed axially to roll 69 commonly drive rolls 61 and 69 in opposite directions as illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 1.

Positioned forwardly of the positioning and securing means 6! and the adhesive transfer means 65 is a receiving means generally illustrated at 88. This receiving means is designed to receive the articles as they have been coated on their bottom surface and fed forwardly by the rolls 61 and 69. This receiving means may comprise a plurality of guide fingers 81. These guide fingers 8.1 are commonly supported at a forward lower end by suitable support means which may comprise the fixed shaft 83. This shaft may be secured to the frame of the machine and in turn secure the fingers 81. The fingers 81 are provided with an upper surface 85 that arcuately curves upwardly towards the space 88 defined between the rolls 61 and 69. The upper surfaces 85 are smooth and may be, if desired, coated with a material such as Teflon and the like to minimize friction. The upper ends 89 of the fingers 81 may project into annular grooves 90* parallely formed in the roll 69.

A sensing means 94 is positioned adjacent to the receiving means to be engaged and sense the presence of an article which has been delivered from the rolls 61 and 69. This sensing means may comprise a lever system having levers 95 that project upwardly above the upper surface 89.

Levers 95 project beyond the upper surface 89 and are designed to be engaged by articles that have been coated and are sliding angularly and forwardly guided by the fingers 81. These levers 95 may be commonly supported on a transverse lever or arm 97 with this transverse arm 97 suitably supported for axial rotation by suitable means. One of the levers 95 may be suitably linked or interengaged with a control arm 98 of the microswitch 99 whereby downward movement of a lever 95 upon engagement with an article sliding over the guide fingers 81 causes the control arm 98 to move downwardly, thus actuating microswitch 99. Microswitch 99 in turn may control power to the motor 54 or suitable means for disengaging and engaging a clutch, which may be interposed between a motor or drive source and the gears 50 and 51.

Modifications of the arrangement may obviously be made. For example, a vacuum feed system may be used to successively feed the bottom article of a stack of articles through the adhesive applicating steps. Suitable conventional protective elements may also be provided. For example, adhesive catch members should be positioned beneath the receiving means to catch adhesive dripping from the articles being received on the receiving means. A cover may be provided for the adhesive receiving means and applicator roll to minimize undesired drying of the adhesive. In this connection, it will be noted that the adhesive roll is continuously rotated even when the machine is not feeding articles to it. This tends to keep the adhesive in an agitated state and thus prevents it from drying too quickly. The adhesive reservoir may also be provided with automatic refill or constant level monitor of conventional design so as to assure constant level of adhesive being transferred to the applicator roll. With certain material, a weight may be placed upon the pile of articles in the container means to assure a solid frictional interengagement between the lowermost article and the knurled wheels 40-41.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, as illustrated in the modification of the invention, in which like numerals refer to like components. As illustrated in this arrangement, the container means and removing means are similar to those previously illustrated. Positioned forwardly of the removing means and in alignment with it is a positioning and securing means generally illustrated at 110*. This positioning and securing means includes an endless conveyor belt 111 supported on forward roll 112 and rear roll 113 adapted to drive the upper surface of the conveyor belt 111 in a forward direction. A pressure platen I114 is positioned immediately below the upper portion of the belt between the rolls 112 and 113 and is designed to provide a rigid support for the upper surface of the belt to limit its downward movement when a force of pressure is applied above. The pressure platen 114 may be suitably secured by means not shown to the frame of the machine.

Suitably journaled above the upper surface of the conveyor belt 111 is a drum or offset roll 1116. This drum or offset roll 116, which is large compared with rolls 112 and 113, is suitably supported axially for rotation by journals not shown in turn supported on the frame of the machine. The drum may be driven at one end by a pulley 1117 and belt 118 in which the belt 118 is also engaged with roll 112 through a pulley 119 coaxially mounted on roll L12. Belt 118 is reversely twisted so that roll 116 and roll 112 move in opposite directions.

In the preferred embodiment, the knurled wheels 40 11 are designed to frictionally engage the lowermost article of a stack until it has passed onto rearward part of the belt 111; and the belt 111 thence carries it forwardly for further processing. Certain articles of relatively narrow width or articles which will not readily disengage from the stack should be provided with additional means for carrymg them forwardly after they have partially passed under gate 20. In such an arrangement, in place of the knurled wheels 4041, a belt system generally illustrated in FIG. 7 may be used. In this arrangement, drive rolls 140 are substituted for the knurled wheels 40. These drive rolls alternately are engaged by belts 142, which are supported at the other end by pulleys 14 3. Pulleys 143 are commonly mounted on shaft 113A supported roll 113- with these pulleys 143 freely rotatable on the shaft 113A. The roll 113 is segmented as illustrated in FIG. 7 to accommodate the belts 142 and pulleys 143.

The roll 166 may be designed for completely coating the upper surfaces of articles as they are carried forwardly over the upper surface of belt 111. The drum, however, may also be designed as illustrated for use in marginal coating of articles in a selected configuration. In such an arrangement, the drum 116- has an outer surface 122 that is provided with a series of transversely extending notches 123 each designed to receive a locking bar 124 which may be suitably secured by recessed pins or screws 125 at either end of the bar 124. A dimensionally stable, flexible sheet 126 made for example of nylon is bent over and secured at its ends under adjacent parallel bars 124. This sheet has previously had secured to it strips 127 of flexible, resilient, adhesive-transferring material. Such material may for example comprise a compressible resilient polymerized synthetic foam rubber or other material conventionally used for applying adhesive coatings. This stripping 127, which may obviously be cut to any desired configuration, is suitably secured to the surface of the sheet 126 by a suitable adhesive.

In a preferred form of the invention, the strips 127 are made in continuous lengths and are coated on one surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive, with the pressure sensitive adhesive temporarily covered with a strippable material. When making an applicator of this type, one merely cuts lengths of the strip to desired shapes and configurations and applies them in proper location to the nylon sheet 126. This may be effected either while on the drum or preferably before the nylon sheet is secured to the drum. The drum 116 is positioned above the upper belt surface a fixed distance to provide a space which is somewhat less than the distance between the exposed surface of the strips 127 and the upper surface of belt 111 when the two are in their closest position relative to one another.

The adhesive receiving means 130 may be generally the same in configuration as the adhesive receiving means described in connection with FIG. 1. The adhesive transfer means includes transfer rolls 13-1 and 132, which are tangential to one another. Roll 131 is suitably supported for rotation with the surface of the roll partially submerged in the adhesive receiving means. The transfer roll 132 is designed to receive adhesive picked up from the adhesive means 130 by roll 13]. and transferred from roll 131 to the exposed surfaces of the strips 127. The rolls 131 and 132 are geared by suitable means 134 to rotate in opposite directions, and may be commonly driven by intermeshing gears (not shown) with'drum 116, which in turn may be operatively controlled by a power source 136 through suitable gearing not shown.

The feeding of articles from the container means to the belt 111 is synchronized with the rotation of drum 116 so that the articles being fed under the drum 116 will be coated with an adhesive in a pre-determined register. Several means may be utilized for such purposes. In the embodiment illustrated, a microswitch having a contact arm 151 is positioned at the forward end of the endless belt 111. When the contact arm 151 is raised, which will occur when an article passes underneath it, the motor or power source 136 is turned off and the belt 111 and drum 116 stop movement. Thus, the article underneath the switch 150 will remain in a position under the arm 151 until it is removed by an operator. As soon as it has been removed by an operator, the switch arm 151 moves downwardly turning the power source on again, and the drum 116 belt starts to rotate once again. When the drum 116 has reached a position of rotation in which an article should be fed to the belt 111 in order to have it register with the strips 127 in a pre-determined register, a detent secured to the drum engages the arm 161 of microswitch 162, which is supported on the frame by means not shown. The microswitch 162 when engaged by the detent 160 causes the removing means to operate, thus feeding the lowermost article forwardly. By properly positioning the detent 160 on the periphery of the drum 116, the removing means may be actuated at any given time relative to the position of rotation on the strips 127.

In an alternate embodiment, drum 116 and belt 111 may be independently moved. The rotation of the belt 111 may be controlled by a microswitch supported on the periphery of the drum 116. The microswitch is positioned to be actuated when its contact arm is depressed by the presence of an article on the belt 111 in proper position for register with the strips 127. A second microswitch adapted to engage by the article turns off the drive for the belt 111 when the article reaches this position until the article itself is detected by the microswitch previously mentioned that is carried by the drum. Such an arrangement may permit more precise location and sensing of the article.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10, there is shown an arrangement in which the articles are carried on a continuous strippable web. In this arrangement, the container means 1 is similar to that described in connection with FIG. 1 when like numerals refer to corresponding components. The removing means generally illustrated at 3 may also be similar to the removing means previously described. The gate means may also be similar in the configuration generally described. Positioned forwardly of the container means 1 is a frame 200. Supported on the frame is a plurality of pressure platens 201 having upper surfaces in planar alignment with the path of travel of the articles fed from the container means 1 by the removing means. These pressure platens 201 may include heating elements 202 suitably located for heating any heat activated pieces of material used in this system. These heating elements may be suitably controlled by conventional means and may be provided with suflicient power to activate heat active adhesive material as it passes over the pressure platens 201. A web 205 of continuous material is supported for movement in a forward direction over the pressure platens 201 with this web 205 in part forming a positioning means for carrying both adhesive and articles to a position for securing or applying adhesive to the articles. The web 205 may, if desired, be continuously coated with an adhesive by suitable means. Alternately and preferably, however, the web is a conventional paper web such as kraft material that has been pre-coated with a heat activated adhesive. The web which is supplied from a roll 206 is supported at one end within the frame 200 on a shaft 207 for unwinding. The other end of the web 205 is engaged by a take-up roll 209, also supported on the frame and suitably journaled for rotation. A drive means 211 is provided for driving the roll 209 about its axis. This drive means 211 may comprise a motor suitably connected, if necessary by gears, to the shaft of the roll 209. The rolls 209 and 206' are removable, preferably through a door 212. The intermediate portion 215 of the web extends over the upper surface of the pressure platens 201. At the forward end of the frame, the web 205 defines a sharp angle 217 transverse of the direction of movement of the web with the web extending angularly downwardly in a portion 218 where it is taken up by the roll 209. The rear edge of the intermediate portion 215 extends over a roll 220 suitably journaled at its ends.

A pair of pressure rolls 223 and 224 are supported with their axis extending transversely of the direction of movement of the web 205. The roll 223 is preferably fixed in journals for axial rotation with its surface tangential with the bottom surface of web 205 as it moves in planar alignment with the direction of the movement of the articles illustrated in FIG. 9 at 230. The upper pressure roll 224 is axially journaled by *journal means 231 which are adjustably tensioned to sup-ply preselected amount of pressure on the articles 230 as they advance a task on the web 205 and between the rolls 223 and 224. A receiving means 240 is positioned at the forward end of the machine and may comprise a grill of wires 241 that extend forwardly from the machine with the upper surface of this grill 241 aligned with the upper surface of the web portion 215. Articles moving forwardly on the portion 215 reach the transverse edge 217 and tend to peel from the edge because of this adjacency of the receiving means 240 and edge 217. A microswitch 242 having a contact arm 243 is positioned to be engaged and tripped by the articles as they move on to the receiving means 240. The microswitch 242 controls the drive means 211 and also the drive means for the removing means generally illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, when an article reaches the forward end of the machine and trips the microswitch 242, the machine is turned off and articles are no longer fed from the container means 1 to the web 205.

When in operation, an article is fed from the container means forwardly by means previously described on to the upper surface of the web 205 in the portion 215. This web, which is pre-coated with heat sensitive adhesive, thus receives the articles with the portion to be adhesively coated facing the adhesive surface of the web 205. The heating elements 202 effect sufi'icient heat on the web to activate the adhesive. Immediately thereafter the web and the article are forced between rolls 223 and 224, thus causing the adhesive to transfer to the articles. Additional heating means are provided after the rolls 223 and 224 in the direction of forward movement to maintain the adhesive active. When the article reaches the forward edge 217 and peels from the web and continues on to the receiving means 204, it engages the switch 242 and stops the forward movement of the web 205'. When the article is removed by an operator from engagement with the switch 242, the web again starts to move forwardly; and the removing means 3 is again activated.

I claim: 1. Apparatus for applying adhesive to corresponding surfaces of a plurality of flat articles comprising:

container means for containing a stack of said articles including at least two side walls and at least a partial back wall, means for removing from said stack and successively feeding said articles substantially horizontally in a forward direction comprising a plate having at least one aperture therein, at least one rotating member positioned below said plate and having a peripheral portion extending through the aperture and above said plate, and a gate disposed in the path of feed of said articles forward of said rotating member, said gate being spaced above said plate a distance greater than the thickness of one article, reservoir means for retaining an adhesive, an applicator roll for transferring said adhesive into the path of said articles as they are successively fed in said forward direction, means for rotatably supporting said applicator roll below said path and at least partially extending into said reservoir, an elongated doctor bar fastened to a side wall of said reservoir and engaging the outer periphery of said applicator roll, means for positioning and securing said articles successively into a position wherein said adhesive is deposited upon corresponding surfaces of said articles comprising a pressure roll, means for rotatably supporting said pressure roll in parallel alignment with said applicator roll on the other side of said path and defining a space there between no more than the thickness of each article,

interengageable gear means coupled to both said means for rotatably supporting said applicator roll and said means for rotatably supporting said pressure roll,

motor drive means coupled to said interengageable gear means for driving said gear means and in turn causing said applicator roll and said pressure roll to rotate in opposite directions,

means for receiving said articles from said positioning and securing means subsequent to the application of adhesive thereon,

means for sensing articles having adhesive deposited thereon including a lever adapted to be operatively engaged by articles in said receiving means,

means responsive to said sensing means for controlling the rate of feeding of said articles from said stack including a switch operatively interconnecting said lever and said removing means,

wherein said applicator roll is formed with a plurality of annular parallel grooves,

a plurality of guide fingers spaced longitudinal of said applicator roll with an upper surface extending angularly downwardly below and forward of said space, each said guide finger including a converging upper portion and an enlarged lower portion having an aperture therein,

10 shaft means extending through the apertures of said 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and including at guide fingers for fixedly positioning said guide fingers least two rotating members positioned below said plate each having its converging end extending into one of extending through separate apertures in said plate. said grooves of said applicator roll, said lever having at least a portion thereof extending 5 References Cit d upwardly of said upper surface of said guide fingers or engagement by articles moving over said upper sur- UNITED STATES PATENTS face- 3,330,715 7/1967 Terzuoli 156-364 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said gate 3,480,503 11/1969 Morrow et a1. includes means for manually adjusting the position of said 10 gate relative to the upper surface of said plate. WILLIAM A PO LL, Primary Examiner 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said side walls of said container means each include adjusting US. Cl. X.R. means for varying the distance between said side walls 156-368, 538

to accommodate various shaped articles. 15 

